Climbing has now become an Olympic sport

Have you heard? Climbing is among the list of new events to be added to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Also making the cut are baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, and surfing.

In a push to appeal to a younger audience, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) selected the five new events from a list of 26. “The climbing event will include three disciplines: sport, bouldering, and speed. Forty climbers (20 men and 20 women) will compete over four days, and the medalists will be chosen based on the combined results of all three disciplines,” author Kevin Corrigan states in an announcement at Climbing.com.

One person who must be excited about this is Canadian climber Sean McColl. He’s an early favourite to be climbing’s first ever Olympic champion after dedicating most of his life to the sport. When McColl’s local tennis club shut down, the then ten-year-old was forced to put aside his racquet dreams and try something new. After demonstrating natural skill and loving every aspect of the sport, McColl stuck with it. His ultimate goal, he describes in a Sportsnet video, is to represent Canada at the highest level of sport in the world.

Regardless of the outcome in 2020, McColl will be part of something greater than the Olympics. He will be part of history, and he’ll be showing Canadian children some new skills and activities they might like to try.

Jaime Neefs, a kinesiology graduate and child life specialist, can almost always be found on a soccer field. Turf or grass, she's out there using her 20+ years playing experience to coach and referee youngsters just starting out. Besides soccer, Jaime enjoys running, road tripping, and adding bacon to every recipe. Follow Jaime on Twitter, @_JaimeNeefs.

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